Senator Michele Brookshttp://www.senatorbrooks.com
Serving PA's 50th Senatorial DistrictThu, 15 Mar 2018 15:24:11 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.5Grove City High School Chamber Singers and Show Choirhttp://www.senatorbrooks.com/2018/03/02/grove-city-high-school-chamber-singers-show-choir/
Fri, 02 Mar 2018 17:19:06 +0000http://www.senatorbrooks.com/?p=2627Senator Michele Brooks hosted the Grove City High School Chamber Singers and Show Choir at the State Capitol in Harrisburg.

]]>Brooks Sees Budget Proposal as Starting Pointhttp://www.senatorbrooks.com/2018/02/06/brooks-sees-budget-proposal-starting-point/
Tue, 06 Feb 2018 23:39:09 +0000http://www.senatorbrooks.com/?p=2615Sen. Michele Brooks said Governor Tom Wolf’s budget address today finds many areas of common ground, but renews the debate about the severance tax, cuts to agriculture, and a proposed $25 per-capita fee on communities that rely on the State Police for coverage.

]]>HARRISBURG – Sen. Michele Brooks said Governor Tom Wolf’s budget address today finds many areas of common ground, but renews the debate about the severance tax, cuts to agriculture, and a proposed $25 per-capita fee on communities that rely on the State Police for coverage.

As chair of the Senate’s Aging and Youth Committee and vice-chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, Brooks said she was pleased that the governor did not renew his call to merge the Department of Aging with other health and human service departments, nor has he revisited his call to close additional state correctional institutions. However, she found it alarming that the governor called for the elimination of funding for behavioral health care for veterans, and he continued his practice of zeroing out many agricultural line-items.

Brooks has been a strong advocate for rural Pennsylvania, and has opposed the proposed fee on State Police coverage as an unfair penalty on small, rural communities.

She was also encouraged to hear that the governor agreed with the need to invest in career and technical education for our workforce, but disappointed that there was no mention of Pennsylvania’s No. 1 industry, agriculture, which sustained significant cuts in the governor’s proposed budget.

Reacting to the governor’s continued call for a severance tax, Brooks said, “I want to draw attention to the fact that Pennsylvania already has an impact fee that significantly invests back into our local communities. Our local counties alone received over half a million dollars from the impact fee in 2016.”

“Although the governor maintains that the severance tax would not be passed on to residents, citizens should take heed that something similar was said about the gas tax years ago and we are all paying more at the pump.”

“I look forward to working with the governor and my colleagues to find common ground, and I welcome input from the families and communities I serve in the months ahead.”

“This is only the first chapter,” Brooks said. “Budget hearings begin Feb. 20. Work on the new budget is just beginning, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to craft a responsible, on-time budget which includes a pro-growth, pro-job approach.”

Senators Scott Wagner (R-York), John DiSanto (R-Dauphin/Perry) and Michele Brooks (R-Crawford/Erie/Mercer/Warren) announced today they will introduce legislation to count, cap and cut the number of regulations in Pennsylvania.

The senators observed how the regulatory environment in Pennsylvania is holding back Pennsylvania businesses and individuals from succeeding in their fields. “If we want to bring jobs to Pennsylvania and see our economy thrive, we need to cut through the bureaucracy in Harrisburg,” Wagner said.

A recent study by the Mercatus Center of George Mason University found that the Pennsylvania Code, which holds all current state regulations, likely contains around 153,000 regulations, and that it would take one person 18 weeks to read the entire Code. “We are literally chasing jobs out of this state because small businesses are buried in red tape,” Wagner added, who pointed to the 24 pages in the Pennsylvania Code regarding the use and design of ladders as an egregious example.

“Government does not create jobs, but it can prevent their creation,” DiSanto observed. “My own experience as a business owner proves this out. Many Pennsylvanians have shared with me how excessive government red tape discourages innovation and investment that would grow our economy. Time would be better spent on producing goods and serving customers than on completing paperwork and jumping through regulatory hoops with no real value to anyone except the entrenched bureaucracy.”

The senators’ bill, called the Red Tape Reduction Act, will accomplish three things:

Count the number of state regulations in the Pennsylvania Code.

Cap the number of state regulations at the current number.

Cut the number of state regulations by instituting a one-in, two-out regulatory model.

A one-in, two-out rule means that for every new regulation imposed in Pennsylvania, two would be eliminated. Canada, British Columbia, the United Kingdom, and most recently the U.S. federal government have all seen success with variations of this policy. It is an effective way to curb excessive government regulation, reported the senators.

“Consistently, I hear that over-reaching regulations are creating undue burdens on our farmers, local governments, business owners, and so many others. This legislation is an important step in identifying and rolling back bureaucratic red tape that is stifling our agriculture industry, communities, and job growth,” Brooks said. “By loosening the grip of government, we can help to free innovators and investors from regulatory over-reach, and cultivate economic growth and new jobs.”

]]>Sen. Brooks’ Edinboro Office to Host Veterans’ Representative on Feb. 14, March 14http://www.senatorbrooks.com/2018/01/12/sen-brooks-edinboro-office-host-veterans-representative-feb-14-march-14/
Fri, 12 Jan 2018 14:42:25 +0000http://www.senatorbrooks.com/?p=2581On the second Wednesday of every month, a claims consultant with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) will be available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Sen. Michele Brooks’ Edinboro District Office to assist veterans with benefit claims.

]]>HARRISBURG –(January 11, 2018) On the second Wednesday of every month, a claims consultant with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) will be available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Sen. Michele Brooks’ Edinboro District Office to assist veterans with benefit claims.

The consultant, Shelly Messina, is available each month at Sen. Brooks’ office at 99 Erie Street in Edinboro, including February 14 and March 14.

“I have such gratitude for our veterans and their families, who have sacrificed so much in the name of freedom, and I am working to help connect them with the services and benefits they have earned,” Sen. Brooks said. “Shelly will be able to assist veterans and their families with a variety of issues and answer questions about topics such as post-traumatic stress, compensation and pensions, housing and home loans, health care, and education benefits.”

Veterans are encouraged to bring all relevant paperwork with them.

The VFW is the nation’s largest organization of combat veterans.

“I hope veterans and their families will stop by my Edinboro District Office to talk with Shelly or call my office at any time, at (814) 734-2783, with their questions,” Sen. Brooks said.

]]>Brooks Named to Blue-Ribbon Commission to Support Firefightershttp://www.senatorbrooks.com/2018/01/12/brooks-named-blue-ribbon-commission-support-firefighters/
Fri, 12 Jan 2018 14:41:24 +0000http://www.senatorbrooks.com/?p=2579Sen. Michele Brooks has been tapped to serve on a special Senate commission charged with studying the state’s response to the declining number of firefighters in Pennsylvania. In recent years, the number of volunteer firefighters has dwindled to startling numbers, from 300,000 to 50,000.

]]>HARRISBURG (January 11, 2018) – Sen. Michele Brooks has been tapped to serve on a special Senate commission charged with studying the state’s response to the declining number of firefighters in Pennsylvania. In recent years, the number of volunteer firefighters has dwindled to startling numbers, from 300,000 to 50,000.

Brooks was chosen for the post by Senator Randy Vulakovich, Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee. She will serve as the appointee of the Fire Caucus.

“This appointment means a great deal to me,” Brooks said. “Our firefighters risk their lives at all hours of the day and night. They leave behind their families, jobs, mealtimes and warm beds at a moment’s notice to rescue and protect others, saving both lives and property. The number of firefighters has reached crisis levels, and we need to work together to identify ways to retain but also attract new firefighters in our communities. In a time of emergency, when seconds count, can we imagine not having our local fire department? They provide a valuable public service and save local taxpayers millions of dollars every year.”

The next meeting of the Commission will be held on Feb. 2 in Pittsburgh.

The commission is charged under the law with producing a report by June.

Among the commission members are former State Fire Commissioner Ed Mann, who served under four governors, and Acting Fire Commissioner Bruce Trego. Sen. Brooks has invited Sen. Vulakovich and Acting Commissioner Trego to our community to meet with local firefighters in the next few months.

]]>City of Farrell Receives Grant to Eliminate Blight, Create Jobshttp://www.senatorbrooks.com/2018/01/04/city-farrell-receives-grant-eliminate-blight-create-jobs/
Thu, 04 Jan 2018 17:22:58 +0000http://www.senatorbrooks.com/?p=2573Senator Michele Brooks announced that the City of Farrell has been selected to receive $500,000 from the Keystone Communities program to help demolish four blighted properties, build a retail plaza, and attract new businesses and light industrial facilities to newly cleared sites.

]]>HARRISBURG (January 3, 2018) — Senator Michele Brooks announced that the City of Farrell has been selected to receive $500,000 from the Keystone Communities program to help demolish four blighted properties, build a retail plaza, and attract new businesses and light industrial facilities to newly cleared sites.

“For years, the public and private sectors have worked collaboratively to bring a new downtown to Farrell, and this grant helps advance that goal. One of the best ways to bolster the city’s tax base is to attract commercial development to our downtown regions,” Brooks said. “Farrell is a city on the rebound, and I am happy to see state support for our local efforts.”

One of the buildings to be razed is situated across from the Farrell Municipal Building. It has fallen into disrepair and is slated to be replaced by a retail plaza, with several potential tenants already having expressed an interest.

Another vacant, blighted building would be razed along Martin Luther King Boulevard, a key commercial corridor which has recently benefited from a road construction project that included widening the road, adding a turning lane and improving sidewalks. The cleared site would also be suitable for marketing and development, as part of the state’s “Clean Slate” initiative.

“Farrell is to be applauded for piecing together a group of key initiatives that will help to bring about a new revitalization in the city,” Brooks said.

Farrell was one of 22 projects selected for the grant program from across the state.

]]>Brooks Reports: Local Bridge, Road to Be Named in Honor of Area Veteranshttp://www.senatorbrooks.com/2017/12/27/brooks-reports-local-bridge-road-named-honor-area-veterans-2/
Wed, 27 Dec 2017 21:44:16 +0000http://www.senatorbrooks.com/?p=2562Senator Michele Brooks is pleased to announce that the governor has signed legislation into law that was advanced through the House and Senate to name a bridge spanning a portion of College Avenue in Mercer County as the “Greenville Veterans Memorial Bridge” and a section of State Route 18 in West Fallowfield Township, Crawford County, as the “Staff Sergeant James Douglas Mowris Memorial Highway.”

]]>HARRISBURG – Senator Michele Brooks is pleased to announce that the governor has signed legislation into law that was advanced through the House and Senate to name a bridge spanning a portion of College Avenue in Mercer County as the “Greenville Veterans Memorial Bridge” and a section of State Route 18 in West Fallowfield Township, Crawford County, as the “Staff Sergeant James Douglas Mowris Memorial Highway.”

The bill was signed into law on Dec. 22 to become Act 73 of 2017.

The bridge in Mercer County crosses the Little Shenango River in Greenville Borough, near Thiel College. Sen. Brooks offered the amendment to name the bridge, after members of the Greenville VFW approached her and asked for this special designation.

“It is such an honor for me to be able to fulfill the wishes of the Greenville VFW, the American Legion and the veterans we owe so much to. It touches all of our hearts here at home when we join the members of the VFW, American Legion and Ladies Auxiliary as they stop their parade on this bridge every Memorial Day to float a wreath in the water and pay tribute to those heroes who never came home.”

The language saluting Staff Sergeant Mowris was advanced by Rep. Parke Wentling in the House and Sen. Brooks in the Senate after the Mowris family contacted area legislators.

“It is with the deepest gratitude that we salute the heroes who have sacrificed so much. With the formal naming of this bridge and this stretch of highway, the men and women who gave everything in defense of freedom will be remembered in a way that lasts long after the Memorial Day wreath has vanished down the river, and generations to come will know of Sgt. Mowris’s courageous life.”

U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Mowris was killed on January 29, 2004 at the age of 37 while trying to clear an ammunitions and weapons cache in Afghanistan.

“Every time someone travels over this bridge or on this road, they will be reminded of the veterans who kept this land free and safe.”

]]>Brooks, Nesbit Announce State Funding for Pine Township Business Parkhttp://www.senatorbrooks.com/2017/12/27/brooks-nesbit-announce-state-funding-pine-township-business-park/
Wed, 27 Dec 2017 20:10:30 +0000http://www.senatorbrooks.com/?p=2560HARRISBURG –Sen. Michele Brooks announced that $500,000 in state funding has been awarded to the Pine Township Business Park project in Mercer County, near Grove City College and I-79. “This project is all about jobs and a stronger economy,” Sen. Brooks said. “As our area continues to rebound and grow, this project is aimed at […]

]]>HARRISBURG –Sen. Michele Brooks announced that $500,000 in state funding has been awarded to the Pine Township Business Park project in Mercer County, near Grove City College and I-79.

“This project is all about jobs and a stronger economy,” Sen. Brooks said. “As our area continues to rebound and grow, this project is aimed at attracting and expanding business in office, flex and industrial markets, and bringing lucrative job opportunities to the region.”

The grant is awarded through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP).

“We need to do everything we can to help create jobs in the district, and this grant will help develop the infrastructure necessary to help us recruit companies to locate or expand in the business park and compete in the global marketplace,” said Rep. Tedd Nesbit.

“This project is a perfect example of the synergy created by public-private partnerships, as local and state governments work together with employers to bring jobs to the area,” Sen. Brooks said. “This investment in critical infrastructure will help strengthen the jobs climate and the region’s economy.”

The Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) is a Commonwealth grant program administered by the Office of the Budget for the acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational, and historical improvement projects. RACP projects are authorized in the Redevelopment Assistance section of a Capital Budget Itemization Act, have a regional or multi-jurisdictional impact, and increase or maintain employment, tax revenues, or other measures of economic activity. RACP projects are state-funded projects that cannot obtain primary funding under other state programs.

]]>Brooks Announces State Funding for Meadville Medical Center’s Vernon Placehttp://www.senatorbrooks.com/2017/12/27/brooks-announces-state-funding-meadville-medical-centers-vernon-place/
Wed, 27 Dec 2017 20:08:39 +0000http://www.senatorbrooks.com/?p=2558Sen. Michele Brooks announced that $600,000 in state funding has been awarded to the Meadville Medical Center Vernon Place site in Crawford County. The project is located along the Route 322 and 19 corridor in Vernon Township.

]]>HARRISBURG –Sen. Michele Brooks announced that $600,000 in state funding has been awarded to the Meadville Medical Center Vernon Place site in Crawford County. The project is located along the Route 322 and 19 corridor in Vernon Township.

“This project is an example of public-private partnerships, as local and state governments work together with business and medical leaders to strength health care and our local economies,” Sen. Brooks said.

The Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) is a Commonwealth grant program administered by the Office of the Budget for the acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational, and historical improvement projects. RACP projects are authorized in the Redevelopment Assistance section of a Capital Budget Itemization Act, have a regional or multi-jurisdictional impact, and keep or expand employment, tax revenues, and other measures of economic activity. RACP projects are state-funded projects that cannot obtain primary funding under other state programs.

]]>Brooks Earns Statewide Award from City & State PAhttp://www.senatorbrooks.com/2017/12/27/brooks-earns-statewide-award-city-state-pa/
Wed, 27 Dec 2017 17:40:46 +0000http://www.senatorbrooks.com/?p=2556Sen. Michele Brooks has been selected as one of the “50 Over 50” most influential people in Pennsylvania by City and State PA Magazine.

]]>HARRISBURG (December 27, 2017) Sen. Michele Brooks has been selected as one of the “50 Over 50” most influential people in Pennsylvania by City and State PA Magazine.

“I find it very humbling to be listed among a group of such dedicated community leaders, including Gov. Tom Ridge. More importantly, I am honored and humbled to represent the people in Mercer, Crawford, and parts of Erie and Warren Counties in the state Senate,” Brooks said.

The award salutes 50 people who are “the most prominent and accomplished leaders in government, business and media over the age of 50,” the online publication says.

“I thank City and State for this honor,” said Brooks, who is the Chair of the Senate Aging and Youth Committee and Vice-Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee. “It is one of the greatest privileges of my life to work for the people of the 50th District and have this opportunity to help our communities.”
Brooks worked to oppose the tolling of I-80, which included her organizing a group of legislators to travel to Washington, D.C. to speak to representatives of the Administration about how tolling would harm jobs, Pennsylvania businesses and travelers. She also worked to strengthen services for senior citizens while streamlining service delivery.

Brooks was also recognized for her work to minimize overly burdensome regulations on businesspeople and farmers and to maximize job creation, keep SCI Mercer open, maintain the Department of Aging as a stand-alone department, protect the unborn, and more.

“I look forward to continuing to serve as a strong advocate for northwestern Pennsylvania and building consensus in Harrisburg to move the Commonwealth forward,” Brooks said.